Excerpts

Nov. 27 | Of a worthy goal reachable,
have Faith to reach it,
have Aspiration to reach it,
have Practice to reach it.
– Shilashanti
… there is the case where a certain monk
follows right after the community of monks…
He doesn’t have the other...

Nov. 19 | Eat and drink well,
for the long-term well-being
of yourself and others,
including those you might
eat and drink from.
– Moustachoman
Shojin Ryori (精进料理) is the devotional cuisine of monks in Japan. The purpose of shojin ryori is to celebrate...

Nov. 8 | Your mind cannot hold two thoughts at once.
This means that a single thought can occupy your entire mind.
Whether good or bad, everything stems from a single thought.
If we are careful with that first thought, even tragedies can be prevented.
– Haemin...

Nov. 1 | In a way, Buddhas confer predictions
of future attainment of Buddhahood
as the purest ‘self-fulfilling’ prophesies –
by inspiring greater practice towards it,
with which definitely reaches it, as predicted.
– Shilashanti
As I was reading...

Oct. 25 | If you think you are either superior or inferior to someone,
an invisible wall goes up between you.
Treat him like an old friend you haven’t seen in a while.
When you let your guard down, so will he.
– Haemin Sunim
I heard a story from Korea…...

Oct. 17 | Should you desire
the great tranquility,
prepare to sweat white beads.
– Zen Master Hakuin
There are no shortcuts or ways to bypass the Apprenticeship Phase. It is the nature of the human brain to require such lengthy exposure to a field, which allows...

Oct. 11 | To experience things as they are,
as clearly as you can,
do so with as little attachment,
aversion and delusion as you can.
– Shilashanti
And how does a noble disciple guard the sense doors?
When a noble disciple sees a sight with the eyes, they don’t...

Oct. 4 | [Mis]fortune falls heavily on those
for whom she’s unexpected.
The one always on the lookout easily endures.
– Seneca
(On Consolations To Helvia, 5.3)
There is a story of a Zen Master who has a beautiful prized cup. The master would repeat to...

Sep. 27 | The height of cultivation
runs to simplicity.
– Bruce Lee
The great philosopher king Marcus Aurelius… wrote to himself, he must ‘fight to be the person philosophy tried to make you.’ This is why Zen philosopher Zuigan is supposed to...

Sep. 20 | Hell is absence of compassion
by oneself and for oneself,
by others and for others.
– Shilashanti
We may be surprised to hear how the Buddha[-to-be] first generated compassion in the hell realm. In one of his past lives the Buddha[-to-be] was born in...

Sep. 13 | The Buddha’s first teaching
was a message with the greatest hope –
telling us that all beings have Buddha-nature.
– Shilashanti
There is Buddha-nature in every sentient being‘s mind, no matter how many negative actions living beings...

Sep. 5 | We have the impression [through the earliest found sūtras]…
that [the] Mahāyāna [tradition] was NOT distinct from
[so-called] ‘mainstream’ Buddhism at this period
[when these sūtras were being recorded],
as it became [institutionalised...

Aug. 29 | Cherry blossoms
Scatter at the peak of their beauty –
It is much harder for us
To fall away from our own
Attachment to the world.
– Rengetsu
The Bodhisattva, a gardener, decides to leave home to fully practice the Way when he sees his old spade...

Aug. 22 | Everything the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
do and not do are expressions
of perfect compassion for all.
– Shilashanti
The Buddhas are described as having three bodies (Trikāya 三身) or aspects of existence, though they are in ultimate reality one in...

Aug. 15 | Learn to do more with less
before wanting more and more.
– Shilashanti
One of the principles of a Buddhist lifestyle is to take care of things and repair them. The unsui monks of Eihei Temple designate days that contain the numbers ‘4’...